A brother-in-law of the emperor Zeno, Basiliscus commanded the catastrophic Byzantine naval expedition against the Vandals in North Africa, squandering a force of roughly 100,000 men and turning near-certain victory into total defeat. He subsequently usurped the throne during Zeno's exile to Isauria, but his brief reign was marked by mismanagement, the alienation of the army, poor counsel, religious riots, and a devastating fire. Zeno eventually returned to reclaim power, and Basiliscus was exiled to Cappadocia, where he died of exposure.
What each episode says
Episode 6 (9 mentions)
The emperor's brother-in-law, described as a well-educated but incompetent fool with a burning desire for power. After commanding the disastrous African naval campaign against the Vandals, he later usurped the throne while Zeno fled to Isauria, but his reign was a catalogue of mismanagement — alienating the army, squandering support, appointing Timothy the Weasel as his advisor, and triggering a massive fire and religious riots — until Zeno returned and exiled him to Cappadocia to freeze to death.
“them for the sack of Rome, Asper saw his chance, and persuaded the emperor to appoint Basiliscus”
“incompetent brother Basiliscus, still smarting from the debacle of the African campaign.”
“Basiliscus' reign had been a disaster, not only for the empire, but for western history.”
Episode 8 (1 mention)
Basiliscus is mentioned as the 'dismal' commander of the last Byzantine army that had invaded North Africa, 100,000 strong, who managed within days to turn what should have been an overwhelming victory into an unmitigated disaster. His failure set the bar against which Belisarius's much smaller but more skillful campaign is contrasted.
“had invaded had been a hundred thousand strong and commanded by the dismal Basiliscus, who managed”
Related